Event‐related neural activity associated with prospective remembering

Abstract

This article reviews the ®ndings of recent work investigating the neural correlates of prospective remembering conducted within the context of the noticing search model using event-related brain potentials (ERPs). The presentation of a PM cue was associated with a phasic negativity (N320) Ð whose topography may be modulated by the nature of the cue Ð and two sustained modulations of the ERPs. The ®rst of these modulations re¯ected a parietal positivity±right frontal negativity that differentiated PM cue trials from ongoing activity trials independent of whether or not a prospective response was made. The second of these modulations re¯ected a frontal±central positivity that differentiated PM cue trials which elicited a prospective response from PM cue trials that failed to elicit a prospective response and ongoing activity trials. Together these ®ndings indicate that successful prospective remembering arises from the activity of distinct neural processes that may support detection of the PM cue, recovery of the intention from memory, and the timely realization of the intention.

Strategic automation of emotion regulation.

“…Indeed, Gollwitzer and Cohen (2008) have pointed out that goal intentions and the intentions meant to fulfill them (i.e., implementation intentions) are drawing on prospective memory processes. This is also suggested by the fact that previous prospective memory research (West et al, 2000) has found the same parietal and right frontal activations that we observed in the present study.…”

Effects of perceptual and semantic cues on ERP modulations associated with prospective memory

“…Consistent with previous experiments that have utilised perceptual features of a physical stimulus to designate a PM cue (West et al, 2000(West et al, , 2006West and Krompinger, 2005), both the prospective positivity and N300 components were strongly elicited for the perceptual group. Consistent with studies that utilised a semantic feature of a physical stimulus to designate a PM cue Wilson et al, 2013), the N300 was substantially attenuated for the semantic group, while the prospective positivity was evident for both groups.…”

“…The N300 is also accompanied by a frontal positivity of similar onset but longer duration that distinguishes PM cues from the ongoing task (West, 2011). In a review paper, West et al (2000) described a programme of research supporting the specific involvement of the N300 in initial PM cue detection. PM cues could be distinguished from PM lures (stimuli that only partially fit the criteria for a PM cue), and the amplitude of the N300 was greater for correct responses to PM cues than for incorrect responses.…”

The role of noticing in prospective memory forgetting

“…In particular, building on work using event-related brain potentials (ERPs; e.g., West et al, 2000West et al, , 2003, we explored the utility of skin conductance responses (SCRs) in elucidating the processes underlying retrieval in a prospective memory task. We report two experiments in which we measured SCRs to task stimuli in addition to measuring prospective remembering versus forgetting.…”